Caspian Seal

Bibliography

http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/41669/0

http://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/seals_sea_lions/caspian_seal.html

Characteristics

• Colored grey with light spots as adults, white as pups
• Adults average between 1.4m and 1.8m in length
• Adults weigh between 50-86 kilograms
• Usually live around 35 years
• Mostly eat fish and small crustaceans

Reproduction

• Caspian seals mature at between 6-7 years of age
• One pup is born to a mother after an 11 month gestation period
• Pups are nursed for 4-5 weeks
• Pup's fur is white but turns grey when they mature

Caspian Seal (Pusa Caspica)

Taxonomy

Caspica

Pusa

Phocidae

Mammalia

Habitat Decline

Animalia

By Alex Kimn and Jamison French

Carnivora

Chordata

The range of the Caspian Seal is confined to the Caspian Sea

English Name: Caspian Seal

Habitat Decline

Scientific Name: Pusa Caspica

Why are they endangered?

The Caspian Sea has no outlets, and the pollution of inlet waters such as the Volga River with heavy metals has caused disease in some fish in the Caspian Sea, which may be indirectly affecting the seals.

Population decline

Number of reproducing females dropped from 117,000 to 8,000 in three generations

(cc) photo by medhead on Flickr

Caspian Seals range throughout the sea with seasonal migration between the southern, middle and northern basins. Almost all breeding takes place on ice, which covers the shallow northern parts of the Caspian Sea in winter. The current habitable range is declining as overhunting, overfishing, and coastal pollution impact the Caspian Sea

Endangered

Habitat Decline

Hunting

Levels currently exceed sustainable harvest levels

Caspian Sea is a closed ecosystem from which there is no dispersion

Overfishing of prey, Overexploitation of oil

Other chemicals such as DDT have been found to have washed into the Caspian Sea. DDT has been linked to an overall decline in the health of the Caspian Seal population and lower fertility rates

Habitat Decline

Global warming may cause a further decline in Caspian Seal populations. The warming winters resulting from this will decrease the ice cover on the northern shore of the Caspian Sea that the seals breed on. Also, this will cause an overcrowding of seals, allowing disease the spread quickly

Habitat Decline

Degradation of the Caspian Sea ecosystem and overexploitation of primary food resources are also threats to Caspian seals. An invasive of comb jellyfish, Mnemiopsis leidyi, arrived in the Caspian Sea in 1999. Mnemiopsis consumes zooplankton rapidly, leading indirectly to a reduction in fish stocks and a substantial impact on local fisheries. A 70% reduction in commercial landings of three species of fish has been recorded. These fish are thought to be important prey for Caspian seals, and the invasion of Mnemiopsis is considered a threat to the seals

Population Decline

The Caspian seal's status in the IUCN Red List was changed from Vulnerable to Endangered in 2008

Listed as vulnerable by IUCN Red List

before times...

Mass mortality events in 1997 and 2000-01, killing several thousand seals each time, have been attributed to a morbillivirus, canine distemper virus (CDV)

Population decline of 70% recorded from 3 previous generations

2008

2006

1996

2010

1990

2000

Other Causes

Population Decline

Wolves killed 17-40% of Caspian seal pups on “some breeding grounds from 1974 to 1976”, while eagles took less than 1% of pups

Krylov (1990)

Population has declined from 500,000 in the 1960s and 1970s to 110,000 in 2005. The population is still declining at about 3 to 4 percent per year due to many factors.

Another contributory cause to high pup mortality is natural predation by wolves and sea eagles

Significant population declines have been attributed to the high harvest levels

CDV has caused mass mortality, and Caspian Seals are suggested to have impaired reproduction as a consequence of environmental pollution.

Harvest levels peaked in the 1930s with an average annual harvest of 164,000 and a maximum single year take of 227,600

Hunting

Offshore and shoreline developments are encroaching on seal habitat. Shipping channels close to the habitat of the seal may be disturbing the seals

Other Causes

Throughout most of history, seals were primarily hunted for their blubber, which was rendered into oil, and more recently for the fur of seal pups.

Why Hunt?

WHY????

Thank You For Watching!!!!!!

How You Can Help

Support these:

http://www.arkive.org/get-involved.html

IUCN

Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea

Caspian Bioresources Commission